Happy-Go-Lucky (C+ or 2.5/4 stars)
Have you ever met someone SO happy-go-lucky that it almost wears you down? In the aptly titled, 'Happy-Go-Lucky', written & directed by Mike Leigh (Secrets & Lies, Topsy-Turvy, Vera Drake), such a person is Poppy (Sally Hawkins). Simply put, she is a bubbly, colorful Londoner; a primary schoolteacher whose diarrhea-of-the-mouth gets under a lot of people's skin ... including mine, at times. Polly is 30, single, lives with her pal, Zoe, & is learning how to drive from a repressed driving instructor named Scott (Eddie Marsan). This is the foundation of Happy-Go-Lucky's plot. Though it's humane, there's very little to it. And since I'm not wild about the Lead character, there's subsequently very little to get me excited about.
We 1st meet Poppy as she rides down the street on her bicycle. Free-spirited, smiling at passers by, she pulls over, goes into a bookstore, and tries to shed her cheer on the seemingly disgruntled store owner. It doesn't work; but she tries. She exits the store, sees that her bike has been stolen, and kinda ... shrugs it off (a very "well shucks" kind of reaction). On she goes. This is the cadence of the rest of the movie. She (tries to) spread her cheer in any given situation. It usually doesn't work; and she moves on, un-phased. Ex's: 1) Poppy attends flamenco lessons. She irritates the instructor. Check. 2) She stupidly approaches a homeless man in the dead of night. She can't help him. Check. 3) She is on the receiving end of a verbal barrage from her pregnant sister. Check. The list goes on.
Poppy also throws her back out along the way. And she has to deal with a bully in her class. So, you see, there are plenty of things that 'could' get her down. The biggest threat to her cheer DOES come from Scott, the angry-at-the-world, cynical driving instructor. I enjoyed him because of his simultaneous attraction & disgust of Poppy. She puts off a strong vibe that inevitably polarizes people. Like him, I found her too jokey, mischievous, & aloof. Or maybe she feigns aloofness, which is even worse. Scott & Poppy have a loud argument in the climactic scene; seeming to make Poppy finally realize her effect on people.
I have a hard time believing that someone as smart as Poppy would be so oblivious to the infuriating effect she has on people. And even though it's brought to light during the climax, it seems that she learns nothing from it by the time the last scene concludes. Not everyone can be converted to 'happiness'. That is not a slam on cheery/optimistic people, either. In fact, I can learn from a lot from people like Poppy. I even liked her in 2 instances: 1) when she's dating a social worker. 2) When she's giggling through a chiropractic exam. But that's about it. Even though it's just a movie, her unintentional ability to annoy is hard to ignore.
Whether you love Poppy's boundless energy, or just can't stand her (as I do), you still have to appreciate Sally Hawkins' penetrating performance. What I couldn't appreciate was the lightweight plot around her. The movie & its outer characters are just way too inconsequential. Furthermore, 'happiness' is an elusive quality to explain. I don't think 'Happy-Go-Lucky' does a good job at exploring 'happiness', or how sadness directly/indirectly affects Poppy. Overall, the movie is fine, but still a disappointment. And I don't know if I'd ever seek it out to watch again.
We 1st meet Poppy as she rides down the street on her bicycle. Free-spirited, smiling at passers by, she pulls over, goes into a bookstore, and tries to shed her cheer on the seemingly disgruntled store owner. It doesn't work; but she tries. She exits the store, sees that her bike has been stolen, and kinda ... shrugs it off (a very "well shucks" kind of reaction). On she goes. This is the cadence of the rest of the movie. She (tries to) spread her cheer in any given situation. It usually doesn't work; and she moves on, un-phased. Ex's: 1) Poppy attends flamenco lessons. She irritates the instructor. Check. 2) She stupidly approaches a homeless man in the dead of night. She can't help him. Check. 3) She is on the receiving end of a verbal barrage from her pregnant sister. Check. The list goes on.
Poppy also throws her back out along the way. And she has to deal with a bully in her class. So, you see, there are plenty of things that 'could' get her down. The biggest threat to her cheer DOES come from Scott, the angry-at-the-world, cynical driving instructor. I enjoyed him because of his simultaneous attraction & disgust of Poppy. She puts off a strong vibe that inevitably polarizes people. Like him, I found her too jokey, mischievous, & aloof. Or maybe she feigns aloofness, which is even worse. Scott & Poppy have a loud argument in the climactic scene; seeming to make Poppy finally realize her effect on people.
I have a hard time believing that someone as smart as Poppy would be so oblivious to the infuriating effect she has on people. And even though it's brought to light during the climax, it seems that she learns nothing from it by the time the last scene concludes. Not everyone can be converted to 'happiness'. That is not a slam on cheery/optimistic people, either. In fact, I can learn from a lot from people like Poppy. I even liked her in 2 instances: 1) when she's dating a social worker. 2) When she's giggling through a chiropractic exam. But that's about it. Even though it's just a movie, her unintentional ability to annoy is hard to ignore.
Whether you love Poppy's boundless energy, or just can't stand her (as I do), you still have to appreciate Sally Hawkins' penetrating performance. What I couldn't appreciate was the lightweight plot around her. The movie & its outer characters are just way too inconsequential. Furthermore, 'happiness' is an elusive quality to explain. I don't think 'Happy-Go-Lucky' does a good job at exploring 'happiness', or how sadness directly/indirectly affects Poppy. Overall, the movie is fine, but still a disappointment. And I don't know if I'd ever seek it out to watch again.